Rewarding career lasts a lifetime

A rewarding career over the course of a lifetime - that's what the oil and gas industry has meant for Darren Brown, a journey-man steamfitter-pipefitter who works throughout Alberta.

"I've been in the trade for 25 years-plus, and I still love it."

What Brown enjoys the most about his work, is the sense of accomplishment it gives him.

"You can build a piping sys-tem and look at it with pride and say, 'I built this with my own two hands,'" he says.

Brown - who grew up in Devon - just south of Edmonton, dropped out of school when he was in Grade 9 to head out into the workforce.

"At the time, there were people who were dropping out to go to work. It was an option for a young man at the time," he says.

He worked as a labourer in the oilfield for several years, and got into the steamfitter-pipefitter trade when it was first being introduced into the oil and gas industry in Western Canada.

"There were a lot of companies that were going to be required to have journeymen working on their equipment, so they inducted us into the program," says Brown, who be-came an indentured apprentice at the age of 26.

He chose the steamfitter-pipefitter trade because that's the type of work he was doing at the time.

"I had the option of going for a welding apprentice at the time," he recalls. "I chose pipefitting because it was more rewarding work - because you get a sense of accomplishment, building something as opposed to just welding two pieces of metal together. And pipefitting is not as dirty (as welding).

"Welding is also associated with some health hazards, such as metal dust. Stainless steel is commonly used and very unhealthy if ingested - and the smoke from burning electrodes contains carcinogens."

He didn't complete his apprenticeship right away, though, because he was always paid well, and didn't think he really needed the piece of paper. He went back to get his ticket when he realized companies were requiring journeymen. He obtained his steamfitter-pipefitter journeyman trade certificate from SAIT in 2005.

Over the course of his career, Brown, 42, has worked in fabrication shops in Edmonton, Ni-sku and Calgary; and out in the field in Fort McMurray and the Bonnyville-Cold Lake region.

He's now working in the Conklin area near Christina Lake, in northeastern Alberta.

Brown takes the rigours of the job in stride. "I do like the challenges," he says.

The biggest challenge about being a pipefitter, he finds, is the sheer physicality of the work.

"As far as the trades go, it's one of the most demanding physical trades. You could be lifting heavy awkward objects into different positions, with different piping configurations, or valves you've got to lift into position to install. One day you could be crouched down on your hands and knees, working on equipment underneath piping, structural supports or vessels; and the next day you could be up and down on a ladder 30 feet or more above the ground, lifting or pulling wrenches. It's highly demanding, physical work."

At the same time, he notes, all of the companies he has worked for will accommodate people with varying levels of strength.

"For instance, there are a lot of women in the trade now, so it's not exactly just geared toward men. There are usually always other people to help out with things that can be very physically demanding."

For any apprentice who enters this trade, Brown always gives them the same advice: "Stick with it until you complete the program. Once you've achieved that ticket, you can expand into other trades, like welding, for instance.

"A steam ticket is a good gateway into fourth-class power engineering - it's like a stepping stone."

Power engineers typically work with steam generators, which run turbines to generate power, he explains.

"Most gas plant operations people are power engineers.

They run boilers and steam generation for commercial or industrial use, says Brown. And you can go into operating gas plants as well."

For those who like pipefitting: "You can stay as a journeyman pipefitter and you can make upward of $100,000 a year, so there's nothing wrong with a career in pipefitting," says Brown.

In the oil and gas industry, journeymen pipefitters can earn anywhere from $60,000 - $100,000-plus a year, he adds.

In addition to the money, he enjoys the freedom and variety that his work brings.

"Working as an independent contractor, I have the freedom of moving to different job locations once a job is done," he says.

He's been working as an independent contractor for the past two years - "and it's working well for me. I'm meeting lots of people," says Brown, whose company, Brownwood Holdings, is based in Okotoks.

"You get to move around, and you become more well known for your experience."

In terms of the future, he has thought about going into power engineering - "but for now, I'm going to work on building my reputation in the oilpatch as an independent contractor."

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